Retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations

ABSTRACT

A retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations has a guide rail, two shade bodies and two cord assemblies. The guide rail has two one-way arresting mechanisms. The two shade bodies have different opacities and each shade body has a top side mounted on the guide rail and a lower section. The cord assembles are respectively mounted through the one-way arresting mechanism and connected to the lower sections of the of the shade bodies. The cord assemblies are pulled to rise the lower sections of the shade bodies. When the force for pulling one shade body is released, the cords are selectively arrested by the one-way arresting mechanisms to hold the shade body in a proper position. By expanding both of, one of or none of the shade bodies, the retractable window shade provides a proper proportion of shading sunlight with appropriate, comfortable and mild brightness.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a retractable window shade, and more particularly to a retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations.

2. Description of Related Art

A conventional retractable window shade generally has a single shade body. The shade body is expanded to shade outdoor sunlight or retracted to allow the outdoor sunlight to completely pass through a window to make an indoor environment bright.

According to varied weather, the sunlight has varied brightness. However, the conventional retractable window shade merely has a single shade body such that the conventional retractable window is limited to alternatively provide shading effects, dark or bright. But, there are multiple gradations between dark and bright, the conventional retractable window shade with a single shade body is unable to shade outdoor sunlight in a proper proportion to provide an indoor environment with an appropriate, comfortable and mild brightness.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.

The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in accordance with the present invention comprises a guide rail, a major shade body, a major cord assembly, a secondary shade body and a secondary cord assembly.

The guide rail has two ends, two one-way arresting mechanisms, two major holes formed through the bottom of the guide rail at an interval and two secondary holes formed through the bottom of the guide rail at an interval.

The major shade body has an opacity, a top side mounted on the guide rail and a lower section. With the opacity, the major shade body can shade a high proportion of sunlight. The major cord assembly has two major cords and each of the major cords has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal ends of the major cords are mounted through one of the one-way arresting mechanisms, respectively extend through the major holes and are connected to the lower section of the major shade body. When the major cords are pulled, the lower section of the major shade body is risen and is retracted to the guide rail. When the major cords are released, the major cords are selectively arrested by the one-way arresting mechanism to hold the major shade body in a proper position.

The secondary shade body has an opacity lower than that of the major shade body, a top side mounted on the guide rail and a lower section. With a lower opacity, the secondary shade body can shade a low proportion of sunlight. The secondary cord assembly has two secondary cords and each of the secondary cords has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal ends of the secondary cords are mounted through the other one of the one-way arresting mechanisms, respectively extend through the secondary holes and are connected to the lower section of the secondary shade body. When the secondary cords are pulled, the lower section of the secondary shade body is risen and is retracted to the guide rail. When the secondary cords are released, the secondary cords are selectively arrested by the one-way arresting mechanism to hold the secondary shade body in a proper position.

By expanding both of, one of or none of the shade bodies, the retractable window shade can selectively shade a proper proportion of sunlight according to varied brightness of the sunlight to provide an indoor environment with appropriate, comfortable and mild brightness.

Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top view in partial section of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged operational front view in partial section of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with a major cord being pulled outward;

FIG. 4 an enlarged operational front view in partial section of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with a major cord being pulled inward; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with a major shade body and a secondary shade body both expanded;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged side view of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with a major shade body and a secondary shade body both expanded;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with the major shade body being retracted and the secondary shade body being expanded;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side view of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in FIG. 1 with the major shade body being retracted and the secondary shade body being expanded; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the retractable window shade with multiple shading gradation in FIG. 1 with the major shade body and the secondary shade body both being retracted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations in accordance with the present invention comprises a guide rail (30), a major shade body (10), a major cord assembly (40), a secondary shade body (20) and a secondary cord assembly (50).

With further reference to FIG. 3. the guide rail (30) is elongated and has a bottom, a front, a rear, two ends, two mounting holes (33), two one-way arresting mechanisms (60), two major holes (31) and two secondary holes (32). The mounting holes (33) are formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) respectively near the ends of the guide rail (30).

With further reference to FIG. 4, the one-way arresting mechanisms (60) are mounted on the guide rail (30) respectively near the ends of the guide rail (30) and may be mounted respectively in the mounting holes (33) in the bottom of the guide rail (30). Each of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60) may have a housing (61), a retain member (62) and a one-way ratchet (63). The housing (61) has an open top (611), an open bottom (612), a guide rod (614) and an oblique sidewall (613). The guide rod (614) is mounted transversely in the housing (61). The oblique sidewall (613) inclines downward and has multiple one-way teeth. The retain member (62) is mounted longitudinally through the housing (61) near the open bottom (612) of the housing (61) and has a retain section (621). The retain section (621) is bent downward and is mounted in the housing (61). The one-way ratchet (63) is mounted in the housing (61), is engaged with the one-11 way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61) and is selectively retained on the retain section (621) of the retain member (62). When the one-way ratchet (63) is engaged with the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613), the one-way ratchet (63) is limited to rotate in a positive direction.

The major holes (31) are formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) at an interval and may be formed between the mounting holes (33) in the bottom of the guide rail (30). The secondary holes (32) are formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) at an interval and may be form between the mounting holes (33) in the bottom of the guide rail (30).

With further reference to FIGS. 5-7, the major shade body (10) is retractably mounted on the guide rail (30) and has a high opacity, a top side, a bottom side, a lower section, a bottom bar (1), multiple sleeves (12) and multiple slats (13). The major shade body (10) is expanded to shade sunlight and is retracted to allow the sunlight to pass through a window. With a high opacity, the major shade body (10) is capable of shading a high proportion of sunlight.

The top side of the major shade body (10) is mounted on the guide rail (30) and may be mounted on the front of the guide rail (30). The bottom bar (11) is mounted longitudinally on the bottom side of the major shade body (10) and has a weight to draw the bottom side of the major shade body (10) down when the major shade body (10) is released.

The sleeves (12) are woven sequentially on the major shade body (10) at intervals to divide the major shade body (10) into multiple plaits (15), and each sleeve (12) in an even sequence is an even sleeve (12) and has two limiting rings (14). The limiting rings (14) are mounted on the even sleeve (12) at an interval corresponding to the interval between the major holes (3.1).

The slats (13) are mounted respectively and longitudinally in the sleeves (12) to respectively form a neat, straight and rigid border when the major shade body (10) is retracted by overlapping the plaits (15) of the major shade body (10).

The major cord assembly (40) has two major cords (41) and two grips (42). Each of the major cords (41) has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal ends of the major cords (41) are mounted through one of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60), respectively extend through the major holes (31), are connected to the lower section of the major shade body (10) and may be implemented in several ways. When the major cords (41) are pulled, the lower section of the major shade body (10) are risen and is retracted to the guide rail (30).

With further reference to FIGS. 2-4, the proximal ends of the major cords (41) extend through the open top (611) of the housing, the guide rod (614) and the open bottom (612) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) in turn and selectively press the one-way ratchet (63) to the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60).

With further reference to FIG. 3, when the distal ends of the major cords (41) are pulled outward, the major cords (41) press against and rotate the one-way ratchet (63) in the positive direction to make the one-way ratchet (63) engaging with the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61). Because of rotation of the ratchet (63) in the positive direction, the one-way ratchet (63) will rotate along the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) so that the major shade body (10) can be smoothly retracted.

When force for pulling the distal ends of the major cords (41) outward is released, the major cords (41) are drawn back due to the weight of the bottom bar (11) and the major shade body (10) to rotate the one-way ratchet (63) in a reverse direction. However, the one-way ratchet (63) will be kept from rotation due to the engagement with the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) to retain the major shade body (10) in a retracted position.

With reference to FIG. 4, when the distal ends of the major cords (41) are pulled inward, the one-way ratchet (63) does not abut the major cords (41). When the force for pulling the distal ends of the major cords (41) inward is released, the one-way ratchet (63) will leave the position of engaging with the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) and the weight of the bottom bar (11) will smoothly expand the major shade body (10).

The proximal ends of the major cords (41) are connected to a lowermost even sleeve (12) and may be connected respectively to the limiting rings (14) on the lowermost even sleeve (12) through the limiting rings (14) of the intervening even sleeves (12).

With further reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, when the major cords (41) are pulled, the limiting rings (14) through which a same major cord (41) extends are strung together and the plaits (15) are folded and overlapped together. Accordingly, the major shade body (10) can be retracted to the guide rail (30) with a neat appearance.

The grips (42) are mounted respectively at the distal ends of the major cords (41) such that a user can pull the major cords (41) to expand or retract the major shade body (10) conveniently.

With further reference to FIGS. 5-7, the secondary shade body (20) is retractably mounted on the guide rail (30) and has a lower opacity than that of the major shade body (20), a top side, a bottom side, a lower section, a bottom bar (21), multiple sleeves (22) and multiple slats (23). The secondary shade body (20) is expanded to shade sunlight and is retracted to allow the sunlight to pass through a window.

With further reference to FIGS. 5, 7, and 9, with a lower opacity, the secondary shade body (20) is capable of shading a low proportion of sunlight. The major shade body (10) and the secondary shade body (20) may be both expanded to almost completely shade the sunlight, may be alternatively expanded to shade part of the sunlight and may be both retracted to allow the sunlight to completely pass through the window.

The top side of the secondary shade body (20) is mounted on the guide rail (30) and may be mounted on the rear of the guide rail (30). The bottom bar (21) is mounted longitudinally on the bottom side of the secondary shade body (20) and has a weight to draw the bottom side of the secondary shade body (20) down when the secondary shade body (20) is released.

The sleeves (22) are woven sequentially on the secondary shade body (20) at intervals to divide the secondary shade body (20) into multiple plaits (25), and each sleeve (22) in an even sequence is an even sleeve (22) and has two limiting rings (24). The limiting rings (24) are mounted on the even sleeve (22) at an interval corresponding to the interval between the major holes (31).

The slats (23) are mounted respectively and longitudinally in the sleeves (22) to respectively form a neat, straight and rigid border when the secondary shade body (20) is retracted by overlapping the plaits (25) of the secondary shade body (20).

The secondary cord assembly (50) has two secondary cords (51) and two grips (52). Each of the secondary cords (51) has a distal end and a proximal end. The proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) are mounted through the other one of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60), respectively extend through the secondary holes (32), are connected to the lower section of the secondary shade body (20) and may be implemented in several ways. When the secondary cords (51) are pulled, the lower section of the secondary shade body (20) is risen and is retracted to the guide rail (30).

The proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) extend through the open top (611) of the housing (61), the guide rod (614) and the open bottom (612) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) in turn and selectively press the one-way ratchet (63) to engage with the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60).

When the distal ends of the secondary cords (51) are pulled outward, the secondary cords (51) abut against and rotate the one-way ratchet (63) in the positive direction to press the one-way ratchet (63) to engage with the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61). Because of rotation of the ratchet (63) in the positive direction, the one-way ratchet (63) will rotate along the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) so that the secondary shade body (20) can be smoothly retracted.

When force for pulling the distal ends of the secondary cords (51) outward is released, the secondary cords (51) are drawn back and rotate the one-way ratchet (63) in a reverse direction. However, the one-way ratchet (63) is kept from rotation due to the engagement with the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) to retain the secondary shade body (20) in a retracted position.

When the distal ends of the secondary cords (51) are pulled inward, the one-way ratchet (63) does not abut the secondary cords (51). When the force for pulling the distal ends of the secondary cords (51) inward is released, the one-way ratchet (63) does not be limited by the one-way teeth on the oblique sidewall (613) and the weight of the bottom bar (21) will smoothly expand the secondary shade body (20).

The proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) are connected to a lowermost even sleeve (22) and may be connected respectively to the limiting rings (24) of the lowermost even sleeve (22) through the limiting rings (24) on the intervening even sleeves (22).

With further reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, when the secondary cords (51) are pulled, the limiting rings (24) through which a same major cord (51) extends are strung together and the plaits (25) are folded and overlapped together so that the secondary shade body (20) can be retracted to the guide rail (30) with a neat appearance.

The grips (52) are mounted respectively at the distal ends of the secondary cords (51) such that a user can pull the secondary cords (51) to expand or retract the secondary shade body (20) conveniently.

By selectively expanding both of, one of, or none of the shade bodies (10, 20), the retractable window shade achieve multiple gradations of shading effect to provide an indoor environment with an appropriate, comfortable and mild brightness.

Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed. 

1. A retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations comprising: a guide rail (30) having a bottom, two ends, two one-way arresting mechanisms (60), two major holes (31) formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) at an interval and two secondary holes (32) formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) at an interval; a major shade body (10) retractably mounted on the guide rail (30) and having an opacity, a top side mounted on the guide rail (30), a bottom side and a lower section; a major cord assembly (40) having two major cords (41), each of the major cords (41) having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal ends of the major cords (41) being mounted through one of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60), respectively extending through the major holes (31) and connected to the lower section of the major shade body (10); a secondary shade body (20) retractably mounted on the guide rail (30) and has an opacity lower than that of the major shade body (10), a top side mounted on the guide rail (30), a bottom side, a lower section; and a secondary cord assembly (50) having two secondary cords (51), each of the secondary cords (51) having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) being mounted through the other one of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60), respectively extending through the secondary holes (32) and connected to the lower section of the secondary shade body (20).
 2. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide rail (30) further has two mounting holes (33) formed through the bottom of the guide rail (30) respectively near the ends of the guide rail (30); the one-way arresting mechanisms (60) are mounted respectively in the mounting holes (33) and each of the one-way arresting mechanisms (60) having a housing (61) having an open top (611); an open bottom (612); a guide rod (614) mounted transversely in the housing (61); and an oblique sidewall (613) inclining downward and having multiple one-way teeth; a retain member (62) mounted longitudinally through the housing (61) near the open bottom (612) of the housing (61); and an one-way ratchet (63) mounted in the housing (61) and selectively engaged with the one-way teeth of the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61); the proximal ends of the major cords (41) extend through the open top (611), the guide rod (614) and the open bottom (612) of a corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) in turn and selectively press the one-way ratchet (63) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) to engage with the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60); and the proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) extend through the open top (611), the guide rod (614) and the open bottom (612) of a corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) in turn and selectively press the one-way ratchet (63) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60) to engage with the oblique sidewall (613) of the housing (61) of the corresponding one-way arresting mechanism (60).
 3. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 2, wherein the retain member (62) of each arresting mechanism (60) further has a retain section (621) bent downward and mounted in the housing (61) of the arresting mechanism (60).
 4. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 1, wherein the major shade body (10) further has a bottom bar (11) mounted longitudinally on the bottom side of the major shade body (10); multiple sleeves (12) woven sequentially on the major shade body (10) at intervals to divide the major shade body (10) into multiple plaits (15); and multiple slats (13) mounted respectively and longitudinally in the sleeves (12); and the proximal ends of the major cords (41) are connected to one of the sleeves (12) of the major shade body (20).
 5. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 4, wherein each of the sleeves (12) of the major shade body (10) in an even sequence is an even sleeve (12) and has two limiting rings (14) mounted on the even sleeve (12) at an interval corresponding to the interval between the major holes (31); and the proximal ends of the major cords (41) are connected respectively to the limiting rings (14) of a lowermost even sleeve (12) of the major shade body (10) through the limiting rings (14) of intervening even sleeves (12).
 6. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 5, wherein the secondary shade body (20) further has a bottom bar (21) mounted longitudinally on the bottom side of the secondary shade body (20); multiple sleeves (22) woven sequentially on the secondary shade body (20) at intervals to divide the secondary shade body (20) into multiple plaits (25); and multiple slats (23) mounted respectively and longitudinally in the sleeves (22); and the proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) are connected to one of the sleeves (22) of the secondary shade body (20).
 7. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 6, wherein each of the sleeves (22) of the secondary shade body (20) in an even sequence is an even sleeve (22) and has two limiting rings (24) mounted on the even sleeve (22) at an interval corresponding to the interval between the major holes (31); and the proximal ends of the secondary cords (51) are connected respectively to the limiting rings (24) of a lowermost even sleeve (22) of the secondary shade body (20) through the limiting rings (24) of intervening even sleeves (22).
 8. The retractable window shade with multiple shading gradations as claimed in claim 7, wherein the major cord assembly (40) further has two grips (42) mounted respectively at the distal ends of the major cords (41); and the secondary cord assembly (50) further has two grips (52) mounted respectively at the distal ends of the major cords (51). 